MKhan: Weekend Auto Auction Junkie
We recently hooked up with a local weekend auto auction junkie. On regular working days, he’s just your average geek. But on weekends, he turns into a total auto auction junkie who cannot miss the lure of a good buy. MKhan, from Atlanta, Georgia, gives us some insights into the world of used cars, big dealerships and banks (repossessions).
Small cars are flying off the auctions. Mostl Honda Civics or anything with reliability, image, and gas mileage of 30 miles is going at or beyond blue book value for trade-in.
Larger vehicles are a bit more difficult to get rid of. They are showing up in a few bank repossessions. We saw a very good looking Tahoe with barely 14k miles and all options going for under $12,000.00.
Tips
* Go early – preferably with a laptop or a friend with access to Internet at the other end of phone – pulling Carfax reports so you don’t end up with a vehicle that had more than fair share of accidents.
* Do not get carried away in the bid process. Leave your ego at home.
* Be ready for nasty surprises. Build it into your price.
And please note most auctions charge 500 fee – keep that in mind when you bid. If you end up having to dump the heap you bought right back you still end up costing money.
By Sri Narra
